FloridaFishinFool

You should not have a problem with any gators in or near Atlanta. If any make it that far north, usually it means someone had one as a pet and let it go there. I just read 2 stories about this same thing from 2007 and 2013. Gators are a rare site in Atlanta: "Adam Hammond, a biologist with the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, told CNN that alligators are almost never seen in Atlanta." "Tim Bemisderfer of the National Park Service says it's very rare for an alligator to travel to metro Atlanta. He believes someone released the cold-blooded animal into the wild after it outgrew its home. "Almost a certainty that he was released as a pet and just has found a way to survive," Bemisderfer said. And this time of year gators seek warm waters. To me, Atlanta is like going to New York. It is up north- way up north. Too cold! I hear Lake Lanier has some nice stripers! Those are always a fun time this time of year. Bass fishing may be slower- much slower, but generally some of the same techniques used for bass will also catch stripers. Good luck and tell us how you did way down there... in the northern South!

All I carry is an anchor. No power poles. Don't care for them. Quite often, rather than tossing out the anchor, down here in Florida I can push into the lily pads and let them hold me in place. Sometimes I'll just tie the boat to one or, anything I can to stay in place- cattails, trees, whatever. I like using an anchor or tie up to something. No need for power poles. They just get in the way and add more stuff to the boat I don't need. I also do not and will not use one of those trolling motors mounted up on the deck. I'm not giving up one inch of space for any of that. I got one of those longer shaft trolling motors that comes up high enough to where when I stand on the front casting deck I can bump it with my knee to steer or by hand without having to bend over. Works for me.I guess I am just an old school simple man when it comes to bass fishin'.

Performance tools only. Rod and reel decorating does not matter. Zero interest in it.

Some people try to say that the fish eggs can not remain alive and viable on bird's feet because they can dry out, but fish eggs could be inside a bird's mouth or beak, or inside folds in a turtle's body if it crawls across a fish bed it can wedge eggs into folds in its body and remain moist in there for some time as it moves around. Same with alligators even possibly snakes too. All of these creatures move from one body of water to another. I can not see any other more likely way for fish to get transplanted into a barren body of water as quickly as they do.

Well then here develops a good question... If developers can dig a hole into the earth no where near any other bodies of water, and you see that the brand new hole they are digging is dry as a desert, once it starts filling with water, how do fish get in there so quickly? In just months you can see minnows swimming around in there. And in 2 or 3 years catch bream and bass in them. What logical method would you say transplants fish into a brand new barren body of water? How do they get in there?

I have had state of Florida biologists tell me that catching spawning bass does not really have much of an effect on overall numbers of fish in whatever body of water. I was told that just one mating pair is enough to populate an entire lake. And, here in Florida where we have a lot of development, new retention ponds are dug out of dry land and in a matter of months, as they fill up with water, you start to see minnows appear, and in 2 or 3 years you can catch bream and bass in them. How did they get there? The biologists say that birds are the mostly likely culprit, along with turtles, alligators and other wildlife that move from one water hole to the next carry fish eggs with them to transplant fish into previously barren locations. So taking some spawning fish does not do a whole lot in terms of diminishing fish numbers from what I am understanding of the situation here in Florida.

I love bass fishing, but taking bass off their beds is not what I would call a good idea if it disrupts their spawn. I remember years ago when a big bass right around eight to ten pounds was on her bed not ten feet from shore, more like 8 feet away. I could reach out with my rod tip and tap her on her head and she just sat there and took it. I tossed in a rubber worm slowly dragged it into her bed, watched her pick it up and I set the hook and reeled her in. I let her go, she went right back to her bed, and I did it again a few minutes later and caught her twice in like 5 minutes. I went away, came back a short while later and tried for a 3rd time to catch her but this time all she did was look at the lure and did not try and pick it up. It was as though she had learned her lesson. Well so did I. I learned that this was not bass fishing- not for me anyways. I learned that I was disturbing something that should be best left alone. And I have not taken a bass off her bed since. But that is just my opinion now, and I know a lot of fishermen specifically target bass in this vulnerable condition and can catch some of the biggest bass they ever caught this way, but is it really bass fishing? Some would say yes, and I would say I don't think so any more. I leave them be until after spawn, then its on! As for handling the fish, we should never touch the body of a bass. Never. Don't touch them, don't drag them in across the land, don't yank them into the boat and let them flap around. Even netting a fish can kill it. Handle them only by the lip of the mouth is how I was taught. Bass have a thin slimy coating called the mucoprotein coating that is their only natural defense from infection and disease. And if we open that up or wipe it off the fish we could be killing the fish without even knowing it or, thinking about it harming the fish. Many do handle the fish destroying this thin film on their bodies to snap photos, or other, and then let the fish go and watch it swim away thinking they just released a healthy fish when the truth could be the opposite- as they wipe the slimy mucoprotein coating off their hands and go back to fishing. By handling that fish they could have just doomed it to die within hours or days of release while we go home thinking we released an otherwise healthy fish. There are numerous articles and other reports about how to handle the fish without destroying the mucoprotein coating... http://www.bassresource.com/fish_biology/reducing_bass_mortality.html http://www.bassresource.com/fish_biology/handling-bass.html http://www.ncwildlife.org/portals/0/boating/documents/keeping_bass_alive_handbook.pdf

I think the opposite. If the parts are machined that tightly with no tolerance, then metal on metal contact would benefit from oil. I wish there was some sort of data on this issue to tell whether a dry shaft spins more freely inside the pinion gear or whether oiled spins more freely. I am of the opinion that a super thin lightweight vapor thin coat of oil is better than dry, but as I said, this is just my opinion, and even if it does not help to get me 5 more feet of casting distance, I would rather the oil be there to prevent wear of metal on metal contact. Just a difference of opinion is all.

Even after polishing the spool shaft and inside the pinion gear I still add a vapor thin amount of an extremely light oil to the spool shaft where it goes inside the pinion gear. Me personally, I would never allow metal on metal contact and rubbing without some sort of lubricant, but that is just my opinion. I follow a general lubrication rule- if there are two opposing surfaces that touch and rub, then some form of lubricant is used between those surfaces. Inside a lot of reels are plastic parts touching and moving constantly against other plastic and metal parts. No lubrication means more friction and more wear. So I will lightly lubricate any and all touching surfaces that move or rub against another part to reduce friction and wear inside the reel with the hopeful outcome that the lubrication will make the reel and parts last longer before repair or replacement.

It is available: https://themappingnetwork.wordpress.com/2010/05/21/contour-lake-map-in-google-earth-2/ Contour Lake Map in Google Earth The Mapping Network is proud to announce our custom lake mapping products can be fully integrated into Google Earth. I am still trying to get it to work with my google earth, but it seems that I will have to contact the mapping network and maybe purchase the plug in for google to get it to work. But they do have it, just not sure what hoops we have to go through to get it just yet... I am emailing the mapping network to find out. http://www.themappingnetwork.com/

Here in Florida we have numerous state and local governments who create bathymetric maps for many of our lakes and salt waters- inshore and offshore. They are usually created by state universities and county governments found in storm water depts. usually. I download all the bathymetric maps and save them, and before going to a new lake I study the bathymetric maps, often carrying a copy with me- and for lakes I fish often- I will laminate the map in plastic, and just before going to the lake I will use google satellite image information to look down on the lake to see where cover and other structures are located and overlay that information on the bathymetric map and with this information I can usually eliminate about 75% of a lake and concentrate on certain areas. It would be interesting to see your forage data added in... but I am not sure how consistent it would remain over a long time period as conditions in lakes changes over time and what might be a good place today for forage foods might not be a good place next year. I think bathymetric maps are a great place to start... I think Dave Douglas has an excellent website with great information about this type of thing: http://highlandsbassangler.com/fishing-philosophy.html The Steps and Procedures Before I Get on a Lake I Never Fished When I consider a lake to be fished, I start with the bathymetric map to determine where the deep water is located in relation to the boat ramps. Then I use my GPS sonar unit to compare the software map with the printed map, noting differences and similarities. Since I have learned that the deepest water areas of any lake are the ‘homes of the bass’ I note the underwater structures in the forms of bars, breaks, and flats along with the shortest distances from deepwater to shallow areas. I note the barriers within the lake that bass will not cross and if there are any creek beds, shoals, stump fields, or islands, all in relation to the primary deep water areas. Then I consult online map software such as Google Street View to give me the shoreline vegetation types in these areas. Since I have learned to think like a Largemouth Florida Bass due to Henshall’s “Book of the Black Bass”, and Perry’s book, “Spoonplugging”,I already know exactly what areas of the lake to fish first—I’ve eliminated 80% of the lake and know where the 20% of productive bass fishing areas are. Next, based on what I’ve learned from the maps and my bass migration knowledge, I plan the setup of my rods. I prepare a rod for trolling, two rods for casting, two rods for pitching and a rod for flipping. The reason for two rods for both casting and pitching is to better control the bait presentation in the form of depth and speed controls, in various environmental structures."

The line I always love to hear when you have a fish dangling off the line or showing off a photo of a fish you caught to hear someone say "Did you catch that?" No, I did not catch that fish! It just jumped right out of the lake and right into my hands for a photo opportunity! Duh!

I don't use fluoro or mono any longer. I have not used it in probably 15 years. I like a fused superline for cranking. Smooth and powerful, no stretch. No leaders either. PE fused superline from reel to lure.

RIP American hero!

I've never heard of polishing bearings. Please explain??? And DVT does this??? I am aware of polishing certain internal parts to reduce friction, but bearing polishing??? This is new to me.

I am one of those people who like to save dough on equipment and I have never built a rod from scratch nor have I ever had a need to. That is more a luxury than a real need for me. Besides, I love to overhaul my tried and true older rods that I love and can not find any similar replacements for them. So I buy from ebay guide sets at auction or buy now and generally I can purchase good quality titanium oxide guide sets for under $20.00 and the thread costs me about $3.00. And I already have plenty of epoxy products to work with on the shelf. So each rod I overhaul and turn into a spiral wrap costs me out of pocket about $20.00. To me, that is more cost effective than starting from scratch, but that is just my opinion and I am sure others would disagree.

They are tiny little micro guides. Not sure how much of a concern in weight that would add, but he seems to like it a lot.

Definitely follow this advice here! Stick close to the size that comes with the lure stock. Too long a shank will cause them to tangle up with each other. Also, be aware that polarity of installation is important for treble hooks directly under the body of a lure. There are only two ways to put the treble hooks on. One way does work better than the other and here is why... If you put a treble hook on a lure under the body of the lure, when you pull it through the water the hooks are pushed back and up into the body of the lure. If one single hook is facing the rear of the lure, when it swings up into the body of the lure it has no choice but to skew off to one side or the other throwing the balance of the lure off a little bit. but if you turn the treble hook around and make the "V" between two hooks face the rear of the lure, when you pull it through the water and the hook is shoved backwards, the V between two hooks can now straddle the lure body and remain relatively balanced on the retrieve. Some would argue doing it this way would decrease chances of a hook set when two of the hooks are up against the lure body and only one hook is down, but then again the rear hooks are still dangling freely and can be put on either way. And when a fish hits the lure I doubt if those front treble hooks stay up against the body once the water is no long pushing them back when it is in the fish's mouth. But, hey, put them on however you want to. All of this could be 100% true or just plain BS! But KVD says polarity matters!

I'm gonna have to give a second vote for rat'L traps. One of the best. And any similar variations of it. I must confess that is one type of lure I can not buy enough of or different variations of it made by whoever. I have some with flow through holes in them that if you blow through them they whistle and I can only imagine what they do under water, but they catch fish, they surely do.

Yeah well he gets a bit compulsive in taking it to the extreme sometimes. I asked him about the extra guides reducing casting distance by too much guide friction on the line when casting, but he swears up and down it does not affect casting distance. Next time I am over at his shop I'll snap a couple of photos of it. He does some nice work though...

I work with a custom rod builder here in central Florida and he shows me how he places the spiral guides by first bending the rod. Just put the butt of the rod on the ground and hold it by the tip and start bending the rod. Notice where the rod bends and where it does not. He uses I think 3 guides to spiral with to get to the 4th guide on the underside and beginning of the underside guides all the way out to the tip. His first guide is always a straight up top-side guide, and then 2 and 3 get him around the rod shaft to the 4th guide being the first of the underside guides. He does the first guide on the top of the rod to keep the line coming out of the reel straight forward. Some rod builders make their first guide an offset guide which means the line comes out of the reel slightly off center. So all of the spiral wrapping guides are placed before the bend in the rod where it stays straight under load with the 4th marking the beginning of the bend under load. Only the underside guides are placed throughout the bend under load. I am sure there are guide books available on line to explain this better so you can do it yourself at home. You can cut a cardboard box to hold the rod so you can spin the thread on by hand. And use a book to put tension on the thread. My buddy just showed me his latest creation a 7'6" rod spiral wrapped rod with 14 guides on it! When he puts it under load the line literally follows the curvature of the rod with guides spaced like every 3 inches apart in the bend part of the rod under load. It looks nice and feels great to hold and use, but 14 guides??? I think sometimes he might be going a little overboard with it. I don't see the need for making the line follow the rod so closely like his latest creation does. I have always heard that you don't want the space between the line and rod under load to exceed 3 inches off the rod. My buddy's latest creation keeps the line within a half inch throughout under load.

When the guides are on top, and you put the rod under load, the line will touch the rod and not only touch it, but now rub against it between every guide where the rod is bending enough to bring the line into contact with the rod. I just took an image of a brand new Irod 7'11" IRG7113CC-MH. I am not bending the rod by hand as much as it would be under load with a fish, and even with just a small amount of bend in the tip the photo tells the truth of this situation: Adding more guides on top is not a good viable solution for this problem. That is merely a band aid approach that may not completely solve this problem. The best solution is to put the guides on the under side of a rod so under load the line is pulled away from the rod same as a spinning rod or a spiral wrap would. As I see it the best solution is spiral wrap. No other way around this problem that I can see. And I am not about to double or triple the number of guides on top of my brand new rod to attempt to solve this problem that way. If I were to put any guides on this rod, I'd remove all of them on the rod, and relocate them to the underside and just turn it into a spiral wrap and be done with it. I can not imagine what my rods would look like if I added a bunch more guides to it to try and stop this from happening on the top side.

I was describing a rod with guides on top would allow the line to touch the rod under load, not a spiral wrap.

Its not just rod twist. For me it is more about fighting a fish without the line ever touching the rod. With guides on top as the rod bends down under load the line comes into contact with the rod and has to skew off to the side of the rod and there is contact of line to rod between each guide where it bends and this is added friction and line wear that is not necessary. Moving the guides to the underside eliminates line touching the rod period. More like a spinning rod setup with a baitcaster on top. Absolutely love them! It does not inhibit casting and I can't say it really improves casting, but I just like it more than guides on top. If I can eliminate a problem by going with spiral wraps then that is where I will go. Try them! You may never look back!

You can always reshape the bill yourself. Cut it down some on a grinder and sand it smooth. I have played around with lure modifications like that all my life. Always the tinkerer.